Dr. Yvonne Butler, a professor at Baylor
College of Medicine, reviews postpartum care with a teenager after delivering her baby. She works in Liberia via Chevron’s partnership with the
Global Health
Corps, which combats maternal
and neonatal morbidity in Liberia. less

Dr. Yvonne Butler, a professor at Baylor
College of Medicine, reviews postpartum care with a teenager after delivering her baby. She works in Liberia via Chevron’s partnership with the
Global Health ... more

Photo: Sando Moore

Image 5 of 10

Dr. Yvonne Butler, a professor at Baylor
College of Medicine, works in Liberia via Chevron’s partnership with the
Global Health
Corps, which combats maternal
and neonatal morbidity in Liberia.

Dr. Yvonne Butler, a professor at Baylor
College of Medicine, works in Liberia via Chevron’s partnership with the
Global Health
Corps, which combats maternal
and neonatal morbidity in Liberia.

Photo: Sando Moore

Image 6 of 10

Dr. Yvonne Butler, a professor at Baylor
College of Medicine, examines an obstetric patient. She works in Liberia via Chevron’s partnership with the
Global Health
Corps, which combats maternal
and neonatal morbidity in Liberia. less

Dr. Yvonne Butler, a professor at Baylor
College of Medicine, examines an obstetric patient. She works in Liberia via Chevron’s partnership with the
Global Health
Corps, which combats maternal
and ... more

Photo: Sando Moore

Image 7 of 10

Nadeem Anwar, who has managed Chevron's social programs in Liberia and other countries, speaks at a school in Liberia that Chevron supports.

Nadeem Anwar, who has managed Chevron's social programs in Liberia and other countries, speaks at a school in Liberia that Chevron supports.

Photo: Chevron

Image 8 of 10

Nadeem Anwar, who has managed Chevron's social programs in Liberia and other countries, gives a presentation to the headquarters support team as members discuss progress of community investments in Liberia at Chevron's Houston office. less

Nadeem Anwar, who has managed Chevron's social programs in Liberia and other countries, gives a presentation to the headquarters support team as members discuss progress of community investments in Liberia at ... more

Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle

Image 9 of 10

Nadeem Anwar, who has managed Chevron's social programs in Liberia and other countries, gives a presentation to the headquarters support team as members discuss progress of community investments in Liberia at Chevron's Houston office. less

Nadeem Anwar, who has managed Chevron's social programs in Liberia and other countries, gives a presentation to the headquarters support team as members discuss progress of community investments in Liberia at ... more

Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle

Image 10 of 10

Drillers and doctors join forces to find oil and save babies

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HOUSTON — Four years ago, huddled in a conference room inside a shimmering skyscraper in downtown Houston, a doctor and two researchers pored over Liberian child mortality rates.

They also studied jobs data, school tallies, information about water systems — enumerating day-to-day deficiencies of life in the West African nation founded by former American slaves.

The research in a Chevron Corp. office was the start of an elaborate process that would expand the search for oil into a quest to solve problems in a place where they sometimes seem insurmountable.

Altruism is part of it. So is business.

Chevron and other oil companies develop social responsibility plans, often including contributions to hospitals and schools, as a way to integrate into countries where they work. But critics say the approach skirts deeper problems in developing nations where weak institutions aren’t ready to take advantage of the billions of dollars in taxes and revenue the nation can collect when energy companies strike oil.

To read more about the benefits and concerns surrounding oil companies’ social responsibility plans in developing countries, log in to HoustonChronicle.com.